I agree that the pledge should be optional. There's too much internal conflict in our nation right now--people should have the right to voice, in any civil way, their disagreement with the way the nation is currently being run. I don't know if that's what these 8th graders had on their minds, but I DO know that children are smarter than most people give them credit for. They're not hurting anyone by sitting and staying silent throughout the pledge. I'm in the same boat as others--I did it blindly while in school, because it was something taught to us to do, and we weren't really taught to consider the meaning behind it. But then, I've changed a LOT in my views of the nation since I graduated high school as well. |